Fallen Through
by degrassichick
Summary: When Danielle Curtis was twelve, she ran away to New York, leaving her brother's behind. But now when she comes home and people grow suspicious, how will she let them know who she really is without them never letting her out of their site?
1. Back to Tulsa

Hey all, degrassichick92 here.

Since my first Outsiders fan fiction utterly flopped, I thought I'd try another to see if it doesn't crash and burn.

Lotsa love and R&R (no flames _please_),

degrassichick92

**- - - - -**

**Chapter 1**

**- - - - -**

"Danielle, what are you doing?" Gemmy Farber asked her 15 year old best friend who was sitting on a chair with her ear practically attached to the radio.

"…_it is the second year anniversary of the large church fire in Oklahoma where three boys saved the lives of many young ones in the large fire, none of the students were dead. But one of the saviors, Johnny Cade, didn't survive the fire…one of the other gentlemen, Dallas Winston, died later that evening from a gunshot. The other Ponyboy Curtis, survived all together…the three will be remembered for saving the lives of a second grade class…"_

Danielle gulped and then turned to Gemmy, turning down the radio, "It's nothing," she said, wiping her eyes.

"For the past two years on this day you always listen to that, as if it has to do with you, when you heard it the first time, you were crushed,"

Danielle looked up at her friend, "It does have to do with me,"

"Why?" Gemmy asked.

"One of those boys is my brother,"

"Who? Ponyboy?" Gemmy asked, only because it was a weird name.

Danielle nodded, "Yeah, and Sodapop and Darry,"

"Oh…"

Danielle nodded-she hadn't ever told Gemmy anything about her life or her brothers, "I ran away when I was twelve, I never even said goodbye…just left, and it happened a few months after that, only I didn't know until the year after,"

"Why'd you run away?"

Danielle gulped, "My parents died, I couldn't take it. That night I stayed up until around 2 AM when I was sure my siblings would be in bed, I rolled out, grabbed my suitcase from where it was hidden in the back of my closet, left a note for them and left, caught the 6 AM bus here to NYC and I've been here since," Danielle had saved up every inch of money that she had since she was four years old for that trip to New York to go to a gymnastics academy for girls, it was where she met Gemmy who let her stay with her family until she found a home, the Farber's ended up being her home..

"Did you tell them where you went?" Gemmy asked.

"No, just said I was sorry I had to do it," Danielle said, "Then all of this other crap happened,"

"You should just go back…" Gemmy said.

Danielle brushed a strand of her straight and long honey blonde hair behind her ear, "I don't know if I can,"

"We can, I'll come with," Gemmy said and hurried into the kitchen of the Farber's large house.

"There, we've got 200 bucks… that should cover it, the tickets are fifty each and then we'll still have an extra hundred,"

Danielle shook her head in disbelief, "Your family is loaded,"

Gemmy grinned jokingly, "I know,"

- - - - -

"Do you think they'll even recognize me?" Danielle said as the bus came to a halt at a bus depot in Tulsa.

"Probably not, but oh well…how old are your siblings now?" Gemmy asked.

"Umm," Danielle said, "I think Ponyboy is sixteen going on seventeen, Soda is eighteen going on nineteen, and Darry is twenty-two or twenty-three,"

"Damn…"Gemmy said, "Seeing them will do well for you,"

Danielle turned towards her friend, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You barely remember anything!" Gemmy laughed.

Danielle rolled her hazel eyes as she grabbed her luggage and followed Gemmy off the bus, jumping off.

"Wow…" Danielle said, looking over her hometown in surprise. It hadn't changed a bit.

"This place is…nice…" Gemmy said warily, checking the town over.

Danielle laughed as she looked around, trying to find something near familiar.

She saw the DX, "C'mon," she said grabbing Gemmy's hand and dragging her across the street and down a corner to where the DX sign stood.

"What are we doing here?" Gemmy asked, staring at the gas station.

Danielle didn't listen to her best friend babble. She glanced around, finally seeing someone familiar…Steve.

"Oh my God, he looks so different…yet the same," Danielle whispered.

"Uh huh…he's cute, hey you!" Gemmy yelled, running over to him.

Danielle rolled her eyes at Gemmy and brought the luggage over to where she stood and dropped it on the ground, next to Gemmy's Keds.

"I'm going inside," she said.

"Yeah sure D, whatever," Gemmy said, still paying attention to whatever Steve was telling her.  
Danielle rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe that even Steve, whom she had known since she was two years old, couldn't place her face.  
She stepped inside the DX and glanced around.

"Two orders? Three orders! …yes ma'am, I just thought you said…uh huh…alright…yes…thank you," the cashier said, hanging up the phone.  
Danielle spun around quickly, nearly fainting, that was indeed her older brother Sodapop Curtis, he had a baby doll face and was adorable…she knew it was him.

"Can I help you?" Soda asked, looking up at her.

"Uh…uh…um…" she stammered, not being able to find words.

"Dani!" Gemmy exclaimed, running inside, "Steve is so gorgeous!"

Sodapop looked back from Danielle to Gemmy and back to Danielle, "Yeah, he's a friend of mine," he finally said, shaking the idea of Danielle being his baby sister out of his head.

"Wow," Gemmy said, staring at him, "You're cute too!"

"Gem!" Danielle exclaimed.

"I'm Sodapop Curtis," Soda said with a soft smile.

Gemmy's face turned cold and she glanced back at Dani apologetically, mouthing 'oops'.

"Are you two alright?" Soda asked.

"Yes," both answered in unison as the bells on the door swung open and someone else walked in with a DX uniform on.

Ponyboy.

"Shit," Danielle whispered, "Gem we better head out, places to go, people to see,"

"Wow, why'd you ever leave here, Dani?" Gemmy asked, looking Pony up and down, "The guys here are so much better than the guys in New York,"

Danielle winced, "Yeah…sure, let's go,"

"Hi, I'm Gemmy," Gemmy said, walking up to Pony.

"Ponyboy Curtis,"

Danielle sighed, "Gem, we gotta go,"

"You used to live here?" Soda asked, directing the question at Danielle.

Danielle nodded, "Grew up here, doesn't matter,"

"Soc or Greaser?" Sodapop asked.

"Greaser," Danielle nodded.

Sodapop watched her suspiciously as she went to Gemmy and practically drug her away.

He knew that was his baby sister.

Danielle Curtis.


	2. Flood of Memories

**Hey all…thanks for the reviews!**

**Here's Chapter 2…hope you likes!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick92**

**- - - - - **

**Chapter 2**

**- - - - -**

"Wow Dani, you have one good looking family," Gemmy said as they walked out of the DX, only to see a familiar pickup pulling into the parking lot.

"He's cute too," Gemmy said, "Hey hot buns!" she called out.

Danielle's eyes widened.

"Better than Super-dope," Danielle heard the guy mutter as he walked over to the girls.

_It had to be Darry didn't it God? Gee, thank you._

"I'm Gemmy," Gemmy said, holding out her manicured hand.

"Darry," he replied shaking it.

"And this is my best friend Dani," Gemmy said and pulled Danielle over to them.

"Hi," Danielle said quietly.

Darry nodded at her in acknowledgement, "How ya doing?"

Danielle smiled slightly, "Fine. Gem, we better go,"

"Oh, sure…" Gemmy said, her eyes shifting to another person walking into the parking lot.

_You have got to be kidding me._

"Hey Two Bit," Darry said, and waved him over.

_My brother is so oblivious._

"Well what do we have here?" Two Bit asked, with a Southern accent, "What are you two good looking young ladies doing here talking to old Super-Dope?" he asked and then laughed at his own joke.

"You know him too?" Gemmy whispered to Danielle who nodded in reply.

"I'm Gemmy," Gemmy said flirtatiously, "And Darry here was just being the nice gentlemen that he is," she said with a smile.

Danielle rolled her eyes, _puh-leeze_.

"And who are you?" Two Bit asked, nodding towards Danielle.

"This is DC," Gemmy said with a grin.

"Danielle's better suited," Danielle said and shot Gemmy a look.

"What's the C stand for?" Darry asked suspiciously.

"Commando," Danielle said, naming the first last name that popped into her head, before Gemmy could say different, like her real last name, Curtis.

Darry nodded, "You look a lot like my sister Danielle, that's why I asked,"

"Oh lay off it Dare," Two Bit said, "Ya ain't ever gonna find your sis, she left for a reason, she's got her own life to live,"

"How far could a twelve year old girl with no money go?" Darry asked, turning to Two Bit.

"You can never doubt Danielle, Dare. She was always mischievous that way." Two Bit said.

"Gemmy, we better head out," Danielle said.

"Where are we going to go? We don't have a place to stay?"

"Why don't the two of you stay with me and my brothers?" Darry asked.

Gemmy and Danielle glanced at each other for a minute and then Gemmy turned back to them, "Sure, that'd be great,"

"Alright," Darry said, "You two can just get in the truck, and I'll be right back,"

"See you two ladies later," Two Bit said with a wink and then hurried after Darry who was walking into the DX.

"God," Gemmy muttered as the two dropped their suitcases in the bed of the pick up and then climbed into Darry's old pick up truck, "You've got some good looking people here in Tulsa,"

Danielle gave her a small smile.

"Why don't you just tell them who you are? They'd be thrilled," Gemmy asked, nudging her best friend in the shoulder.

"And they'd want me to stay with them! I'd be forced to stay in Tulsa because I'm underage, I can't tell them who I am,"

"I just can't believe they haven't even guessed it's you, well Darry kinda did but then you said you're Danielle _Commando_, and I've gotta ask, is that the best name you could have came up with?"

"It was the only one I could think of," Danielle said with a shrug as Darry neared the truck and then climbed in.

"Our house is nothing very special," Darry said as he pulled out of the parking lot, "You've already met my brothers Ponyboy and Sodapop right?"

Danielle nodded, "Yeah, they were nice,"

"And gorgeous," Gemmy chimed in.

Danielle rolled her eyes and they rode the rest of the way in silence.

- - - - -

"Well here it is, home sweet home," Darry said as he parked the truck and climbed out, opening the door for Gemmy and Danielle, who got out and pulled their luggage out of the back.

Darry was right, it was nothing special, but it always meant the world to Danielle.

She loved every detail of that house.

"It's nice," Gemmy said as the two stepped in.

A flood of memories flew into Danielle's head, the sound of eggs and bacon sizzling in the frying pan and she could still see her dad sitting at the table, drinking his coffee while muttering about stupid headlines in the newspapers which always made Danielle laugh.

Then she remembered things from after her parents died, chocolate cake baking in the oven, Darry arguing with Steve and Two Bit about calling him Super Dope only to hear Danielle calling him that after they left, sitting around alone and quiet.

She could almost feel tears stinging her eyes as she glanced out, she saw two chairs and a cushioned couch, a shelf full of pictures of their family and a television.  
Danielle walked over to the pictures, she saw one of her and Sodapop from her eleventh birthday party, they were both trying to see who would blow out her candles first, one of Ponyboy and Sodapop with Two Bit trying to weasel into the picture, one of the four Curtis siblings with Danielle sitting on top of Darry's lap, she was only seven in that picture, and finally, the dreaded family photo of her mom and dad, her brothers, and her, it was taken on a big camping trip they took with Johnny and Two Bit, she could tell Johnny had taken the picture since Two Bit was behind her, with his head peaking out from behind her own.

"Is this your family?" she choked out.

"Yeah," Darry replied from behind her.

"So…" Danielle said, wiping her eyes and then spinning around, "Where are Gemmy and I sleeping?"

"Well…" Darry said, "You girls could take my bed and I could take the couch, or maybe I could have-"

"It's fine, we can split the couch," Gemmy said quickly.

"It might be a bit uncomfortable…" Darry said.

"That's fine, we just slept on a bus, uncomfortable is fine,"

Darry nodded and then told the girls he needed to stop by the grocery store, and left.

"This is great," Danielle said, plopping onto the couch.

"He's really nice," Gemmy said and sat down next to her.

Danielle could feel tears stinging her eyes again, "Yeah I know,"

- - -

R&R!

-degrassichick92


	3. The Flashback

**Hey all, thanks for the reviews.**

**R&R! (no flamers)**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick92**

**--Here's Chapter 3--**

**Chapter 3**

**- - - - -**

"Great dinner you guys, how about I help do the dishes?" Gemmy asked wiping her mouth with a napkin and sitting on her plate which now had no food left on it.

"That'd be great if you want to…it's my turn to do dishes so…" Ponyboy said and stood up.

"Sure," Gemmy said with a smile and stood up as well, taking the final sip out of her glass of orange juice and then followed Pony into the kitchen holding her dishes.

"So," Sodapop asked, "Where'd you say you were from again?"

Danielle opened her mouth to speak but Gemmy cut her off from the kitchen, "New York City!"

"The big apple," Darry said as if in a daze.

Danielle stared down at her plate, which Ponyboy took a second later.

"How do y'all like it there?" Sodapop asked.

"It's great, Gemmy and I go to a school for gymnastics," Danielle commented.

"You girls do gymnastics?" Darry asked.

Danielle opened her mouth to speak but once again got cut off by Gemmy who was just walking back to gather more plates, "Dani's _way_ better than me, gymnastics are like in her genes or something,"

Danielle gave a small smile as everyone else continued the conversation.

- - - - -

Danielle lay awake on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her, Gemmy had rolled off the couch and was now lying on the floor with a heap of a blanket covering up her figure, sleeping soundly.

Danielle glanced at a clock: 2:00 AM.

She sighed, it was hopeless. Going to sleep would be near impossible.

The moon was gleaming from the window and shining on her pillow, also casting a light on the pictures on the shelves.

She felt tears brimming in her eyes as she remembered her last night with her family after her parent's death…

--

"_Pony, could you please put away the dishes?" Darry asked as he walked away from the sink full of clean dishes._

_Ponyboy muttered something under his breath and then got up from his chair and began putting dishes in cabinets as Darry walked into the living room._

_Danielle was sitting on the couch, her knees hugged up to her chest as she watched an old episode of _I Love Lucy

"_Hey kiddo," he said, taking a seat next to her._

_She muttered a "hey" but kept her eyes glued to the television screen._

"_You hungry? You skipped out on dinner…"_

_Danielle shook her head._

"_You sure?" Soda asked, walking into the living room from the kitchen, wiping his hands off with a dishtowel._

"_I'm fine," Danielle said, finally turning to her brothers._

"_You've barely eaten or spoke since the funeral, what's wrong?" Darry asked._

"_You had to ask? Mom and dad are dead and you have to ask what's wrong?! God, what is with y'all?" Danielle asked and sat up, stalking into her bedroom which she had to share with both Sodapop and Ponyboy._

_Most people would find that sickening but Danielle didn't care, her brothers were her best friends._

_She flopped onto the bed, burying her head under pillows sobbing, just as she did every night since her parent's death._

"_Dani," Sodapop said, softly tapping on the door before stepping inside._

"_Soda, can I please just be alone?" she asked, her voice muffled under the pillows._

"_I figured you might want to talk to someone," he said, sitting on the foot of the bed, rubbing her back._

"_No, I'm fine," she said, not looking up._

"_Dani," Sodapop said warningly, "You're not fine and you know it. You barely eat, you barely talk, you're lucky you ever even get up in the morning to go to school," _

"_What do you care?" Dani asked, "You dropped out of school last week,"_

"_Yeah I know," Sodapop said, "And I sometimes regret it, but I don't want you to drop out of school. I want you to stay in school, get good grades and hang out with your friends. Don't even get wound up into anything having to do with greasers, okay? Just be Danielle Allison Curtis."_

"_I just miss mom and dad!" she cried, finally getting up._

_Sodapop draped an arm over her shoulder and drug her to his chest, letting her sob. Her tears seeped through his tee shirt._

"_So do we, we just want you to be okay," he said, rubbing her back._

"_I can't be, I miss daddy and mommy," she said, not believing she actually said "daddy" and "mommy", she hadn't called them that since she was five years old. Daddy and mommy weren't usually in a twelve year old girl's vocabulary, "they didn't deserve to die," _

"_You're right they didn't," another voice said._

_The two turned around and saw Darry leaning against the door frame._

_Danielle got up and raced to her brother, wrapping her arms around him tightly, "I'm sorry Darry," she said in a near whisper._

"_It's alright, its okay," he said, rubbing her back._

_No one knew how much she was truly sorry for however._

_-_

_Danielle lay in bed, Sodapop had fallen asleep on the couch so it was only her and Ponyboy._

_Ponyboy's arm was sprawled across her flat stomach and his face was buried in his pillows._

_She gently placed her hand on his arm and lifted it off of her stomach and onto the bed as she got out slowly and quietly, already dressed in a pair of Levis and a pink and white gingham blouse that was tied in a knot in the front._

_She tiptoed over to the desk and reached under it, where her suitcase was already packed._

_She grabbed it and then sat down at the desk, jotting down a short letter to her siblings:_

Dear Darrel, Sodapop, and Ponyboy:

I feel really weird writing this to y'all…but I gotta.  
I am really sorry about what I'm doing, but I gotta do it too.

Like I said, I'm sorry.

But this is what I gotta do, and this is the only time I can do it.

Love always,  
Danielle Curtis.

_She finished the letter with a small heart and then grabbed a small black and white photo of her and her brothers that was taken on Sodapop's fifteenth birthday, they were all sitting on the couch, Ponyboy and Danielle-the youngest of the siblings-were sitting on opposite ends of the couch, Darry was by Ponyboy and Sodapop was by Danielle, they were all grinning and Two Bit and Steve were behind the couch with their heads peeking out above Sodapop's and Darry's._

_It was one of Danielle's favorite pictures._

_She grabbed her suitcase and slowly and quietly opened up the bedroom door._

_She tiptoed down the hallway as quietly as she could._

_She heard Sodapop's peaceful snoring from the couch, she sat down her suitcase and sat the letter on top._

_Grabbing her Keds, she walked over to one of the chairs and slipped them on her feet, her Levis falling just to the tongue of the shoes._

_She pulled on Johnny's blue jean jacket that he had left at their house for over a month over her blouse and then pulled her hair into a ponytail._

_She got up and grabbed her letter and dropped it on the coffee table in front of Sodapop._

_In one swift movement of her legs, she grabbed her suitcase and quietly walked to the door, opening it up slowly and praying it wouldn't creak._

_When it didn't, she opened up the screen door and stepped outside, closing both behind her very quietly._

_She reached into her suitcase quickly and pulled out an envelope full of money that had been saved up since her fourth birthday._

_She ran off down the porch steps and out into the night._

- - - - -

Tears were now streaming down her face and she wiped her eyes with the blanket and then snuggled against it, finally falling asleep.


	4. He Knew

**AN: Hey guys, sorry for the long update! Thanks for the reviews and here is Chapter 4.**

**R&R (no flamers)**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**Chapter 4**

**-**

"You guys are geniuses!" were the first words Danielle heard the next morning.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced around the familiar living room before sitting up.

"Who's a genius?" she asked, sitting up on the couch and walking into the kitchen.

"All of these guys, cake and eggs for breakfast! That's so cool! I love cake and I love eggs," Gemmy said with a grin.

Danielle smiled weakly at her friend who was flinging bits of chocolate cake batter at Ponyboy.

"Cake! Cake!" Gemmy said hysterically, as if it was the oddest thing she had ever heard.

"3 layer chocolate," Sodapop said with a grin as he poured the batter into the pan and placed it in the oven.

"How're the eggs going Darry?" Gemmy asked, walking over to Darry, who was scrambling eggs in a skillet.

"We're here!" a familiar voice rang through the house.

Danielle looked over and saw Steve and Two Bit walking through the living room and stepping into the kitchen.

"Danielle right?" Two Bit asked.

Danielle nodded.

Steve glanced at her suspiciously before pointing a finger and smirking, "You know who you look like?"

"It's not _that_ Danielle," Darry said, giving a quick glance at Steve, "I thought so too,"

Sodapop glanced around nervously, knowing that _was _Danielle. Even if he was the only one who did.  
He knew.

-

"Where you two heading next?" Two Bit asked through bites of chocolate cake and swigs of beer, directing the question to Gemmy and Danielle.

"Um," Gemmy said with a shrug, "Not sure, Dani, do you know anyone else here in Tulsa,"

Danielle nodded, "Yeah, I used to live here,"

"In this area?" Darry asked.

"Uh…no," Danielle said.

"So you were from the other side of town?"

"You're a soc?" Steve questioned.

Danielle shook her head, "Not really, I never qualified as any group,"

Sodapop felt like rolling his eyes but he kept it to himself.

"Who're the other people you know? I can drop you off," Darry said.

Danielle racked her brain for some of her old friends, "Staci Loren," she said, thinking of the first person that popped into her head.

Actually, she _hated_ Staci, but they would know that Danielle Curtis did, she had to make it out like they were friends. Staci was a soc, Danielle Curtis was a greaser.

"A soc?" Steve asked, but everyone ignored him.

"Alright, I think I know where she lives, let's go," Darry said, grabbing his car keys and walking outside.

"Dare! How are we gonna get to work?" Soda asked.

"I brought my car," Two Bit grinned.

"Great," Sodapop said jokingly, pulling his DX shirt over his white tee shirt as Ponyboy slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"I'll see you girls later," he said with a smile and followed them Two Bit, Steve, and Sodapop outside.

"Yeah, nice meeting you!" Steve called over his shoulder.

Danielle and Gemmy grabbed their suitcases and walked outside.

They dropped them in the bed of the pickup and climbed in the front as Darry turned the key in the ignition and drove off.

-

"Now, if you girls need anything, here's my work number and here's the house's number," Darry said, jotting them on a slip of paper and handing it to Danielle.

"Thanks," she said with a smile and climbed out of the truck followed by Gemmy.

"Bye girls!" he said with a wave as they pulled their luggage out of the back and ran up to the porch and knocking on the door.

"So you two are buddies, you and this Staci girl?" Gemmy asked.

Danielle shook her head and Gemmy eyed her suspiciously.

The door swung open and there was Staci, no doubt about it.

Tall and slender with long golden blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, face of a doll and tan skin, she had been one of the most popular girls up until the seventh grade, when Danielle ran away, no doubt she was still popular.

"Oh my god, Curtis?" she asked.

_Whoa...she's the only person who has recognized me yet._

Danielle nodded.

"Wow…hi. What are you doing here?" she asked, still eyeing Danielle.

"I'm back from New York," she said with a smile.

"Oh yeah…Joss told me you had ran away," Staci said.

Josslynn had been Danielle's best friend, obviously she hung around with Staci now, which would be weird seeing as Josslynn was a greaser and Socs usually just stuck their nose up at greasers.

"Anyway, we need somewhere to stay," Danielle said.

Staci stared at her as if she was crazy, "And the reason you're not staying with your own brothers is…?"

"They think she's Danielle _Commando_," Gemmy piped up.

Staci almost burst out laughing, "_Commando_? Nice name Curtis,"

"So can we stay here?" Danielle asked, getting annoyed.

Staci sighed, "Yeah, whatever, I guess. My mother has always adored you," she said annoyingly, "as weird as that is. I mean, you're a _greaser_. But you know my mother, Miss Charity Case."

_Thank you so much for the compliment, Staci…not._

"Come on in," she said, letting them inside.

"Thanks," Danielle said with a small smile.

Gemmy grinned at her and followed Danielle inside as Staci closed the door behind them all.

-

"Okay…so why don't you want your brother's to know you're you?" Staci asked again as they sat on the couch in her living room.

"I'll never be able to go back to school, they'd want me here, never out of their site or anything, I'd be stranded in Tulsa," Danielle said.

"I love Tulsa," Staci said offensively.

"Yeah me too," Gemmy said and then gave Staci a high five.

Danielle sighed, "I love it in New York, that's where my life is,"

"But your family is here," Staci said.

"What's more important? My life or my family?" Danielle asked.

"You're family," both Staci and Gemmy replied in unison.

Danielle rolled her eyes, "Family is nothing without life."

Gemmy sighed, "Plus, the guys in Tulsa are totally hot," Gemmy said approvingly.

"Well yeah…as much as this is restricting my duties as a soc…greasers are pretty good looking," Staci said with a smile.

"Whoa…you're supposed to like hate greasers…" Danielle said warily.

Staci shrugged, "Yeah I know…but I don't. My older brother is a greaser, which is really weird, but oh well."

"Is this the start of a friendship?" Danielle smirked.

Staci looked at her warily and then grinned, "If you don't tell, then neither will I,"

"Deal," Danielle said as they shook on it, "As long as you don't tell anyone who I really am,"

Staci grinned as if she might laugh, "No problem, Danielle _Commando_,"

-

Sodapop filled a cup of coffee and then slid it to the woman who slipped him back a dollar bill and took her coffee, walking out of the DX.

"Business sucks," Steve said, wadding up a receipt and tossing it against the wall.

"So, what do you think of Danielle?" Soda asked.

"I think she looks just like your sister," he said.  
Sodapop nodded, "She _is_ Dani,"

"You serious?" Steve asked, looking over at Sodapop.

Soda nodded, "You can't miss the resemblance. She's got my dimples and my smile, our mom's hair, Ponyboy's attitude, Darry's gymnastics genes. What else is there to it?"

Steve looked at him warily, "Then why didn't she just say so?"

"Denial," Sodapop answered, "It's simply put, denial,"

"Ya think you're brother's know?"

Sodapop shook his head, "It's as if they're blind or something, I feel like the only one who noticed. I mean, Darry and you both thought she looked like her but that's it."

"Why would she run away?" Steve asked.

"Why _wouldn't_ she run away? It's not like our life was glamorous, our life practically sucked since mom and dad died, I don't blame her for running away. It's just that, we all missed her so much…me especially, she was like my best friend. She would grin at everything and anything, but then when mom and dad died; it was like she did too. She barely talked, barely ate, barely went to school, she would barely even look at us. She lost all of her friends, she lost almost 20 pounds, and she slept most of the day away." Soda paused for a minute, but Steve just stared at him, silently urging him to go on. "I missed the old Dani, who was in ballet and gymnastics and played the flute. For being a greaser, she had a good life made out for her, she was smart and was everybody's friend. She would play football with me and Darry, race Ponyboy around our neighborhood, sing at the top of her lungs when we'd be walking down streets, she danced constantly and ate at least three times a day. That was the Dani everyone loved, then she just became quiet and the only times she'd talk would be a muttered "hey" here and there or she'd be sour to us. We all felt so bad for her but we couldn't do anything." Soda said, "Then I guess one day, she just got fed up and left, packed up her things, got a bus ticket and took off. I don't blame her. I would have left Tulsa too. But now look at her, a gymnastics school in _New York City_! She's got friends and obviously a nice life, why does she need us in the way screwing it up?"

"Because, you're her family," Steve said as if it was-and it was of course-obvious.

"What am I supposed to say, _Dani, drop the act, I know it's you_? I can't do that!"

"Then don't," Steve said.

"Whose side are you on?" Sodapop asked, "Mine or mine?"

"I mean, follow her drift, she's gonna cave in. Dani almost always caves in if people go her way, she's been like that since she was what, three…four?"

"But she can be stubborn and definitely hold grudges, remember on April Fools Day when she was like ten and Two Bit put superglue in her shampoo, her hands were stuck to her hair, she didn't forgive him for that until like the Fourth of July and then she still never let him let it go, she slashed his tires." Sodapop said.

Steve let out a laugh, remembering when that happened, "Doubt that scenario will happen…I mean…we didn't do anything to her."

"I know, but if we go along with it, she'll just think we're just clueless," Sodapop stated.

"True…but maybe she'll also put down her shield if you're okay with her being there and you just act normal but not like she's your sister, like she's Danielle Commando," Steve said.

"But she's my sister," Soda objected.  
Steve smirked at him, "Not anymore."


End file.
